You are here:

Craft Photography Fundamentals Candice Stringham

Are you new to product photography. This CreativeLive Craft Photography Fundamentals video course by Candice Stringham will answer many of your questions.

I'm not a photographer but when I started creating SVG cut files, I needed to take pictures of the finished design. So I've been searching for good resources for product photography. This course by Stringham not only covers a lot of useful information but it is created for crafters.

Stringham begins with a discussion of the types of images that make the best product photos. She gives several real world examples of My Mind's Eye products, as she is their Marketing Director. Next she digs deeper into storytelling with photos and how to become what she calls a "photographic author".

I really liked the photographs that Stringham used as examples, especially when there was a group of photos of the same product. She discussed in detail the differences between these shots and the purpose for each.

The next section was about the various types of lighting for product photography. Stringham builds several photo settings and discusses the purpose for each. She demonstrates how the direction of the light contributes to style, detail and mood.

Styletelling is the next section and Stringham concentrates on using props. She uses several before and after examples to demonstrate how props can enhance the product photo.

Now it's time for art basics, such as the Rule of Thirds, balance, composition, etc. Stringham uses several examples of product photos to demonstrate each principle. I have to admit, this is not the first time I've sat in a class as the teacher discussed several artistic examples to support these principles. However, it is the first time the examples were specific to my goals and the first time those principles became more than abstract. She also included some examples of the most common mistakes.

Next she discusses how to take a product photo from the viewer's point of view, to add the human element and connect to your customer. The product she uses for this study is granola. You might not think there is much you can do with granola but Stringham proves differently.